nutrients-logo

Journal Browser

Journal Browser

The Effects of Maternal Nutrition and Other Intrauterine or Early-Life Factors on the Body Composition of Offspring

A special issue of Nutrients (ISSN 2072-6643). This special issue belongs to the section "Pediatric Nutrition".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (15 December 2022) | Viewed by 7594

Special Issue Editors


E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Institute of Reproductive and Child Health, National Health Commission Key Laboratory of Reproductive Health, Peking University Health Science Centre, Beijing 100191, China
Interests: maternal health; child health; perinatal epidemiology

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
1. School of Public Health, Nanchang University, Nanchang 330006, China
2. Jiangxi Provincial Key Laboratory of Preventive Medicine, Nanchang University, Nanchang 330006, China
Interests: maternal health; child health; childhood obesity; cardiovascular health

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The Developmental Origins of Health and Diseases (DOHaD) theory posits that early life represents a window during which the health trajectory of offspring can be optimized. Indeed, adverse exposures in early life may predispose children to lifelong poorer cardio-metabolic health. For instance, maternal diet could have a substantial influence on fetal development and a child’s body composition, which plays a crucial role in the ‘programming’ of later cardio-metabolic diseases and/or perhaps is itself a mediator of the programming process. Moreover, several other intrauterine, obstetrical, and early-life factors may also have long-lasting effects on the growth and development of offspring. Although there is growing evidence suggesting adverse early-life exposures lead to disease, offspring body composition has often been overlooked. For this Special Issue, we are inviting submissions exploring the impacts of maternal nutrition and other intrauterine or early-life factors on the growth and body composition of offspring.

Original research (experiment or human research), narrative reviews, systematic reviews, and meta-analyses are all welcome. We hope that this Special Issue will encourage scholars in the field to continue research and publications on this topic.

Dr. Hongtian Li
Dr. Mengjiao Liu
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Nutrients is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2900 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • maternal nutrition
  • diet
  • child
  • body composition
  • body mass index
  • intrauterine environment
  • early-life exposure
  • DOHaD
  • obesity
  • cardiometabolic health
  • metabolic syndrome
  • intergenerational effect

Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue

  • Ease of navigation: Grouping papers by topic helps scholars navigate broad scope journals more efficiently.
  • Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
  • Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.
  • External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.
  • e-Book format: Special Issues with more than 10 articles can be published as dedicated e-books, ensuring wide and rapid dissemination.

Further information on MDPI's Special Issue polices can be found here.

Published Papers (3 papers)

Order results
Result details
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:

Research

12 pages, 711 KiB  
Article
Maternal Pre-Pregnancy Nutritional Status and Infant Birth Weight in Relation to 0–2 Year-Growth Trajectory and Adiposity in Term Chinese Newborns with Appropriate Birth Weight-for-Gestational Age
by Fengxiu Ouyang, Xiaobin Wang, Jonathan C. Wells, Xia Wang, Lixiao Shen and Jun Zhang
Nutrients 2023, 15(5), 1125; https://doi.org/10.3390/nu15051125 - 23 Feb 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2423
Abstract
Being born with appropriate weight-for-gestational age (AGA, ~80% of newborns) is often considered as low risk for future obesity. This study examined differential growth trajectories in the first two years by considering pre- and peri-natal factors among term-born AGA infants. We prospectively investigated [...] Read more.
Being born with appropriate weight-for-gestational age (AGA, ~80% of newborns) is often considered as low risk for future obesity. This study examined differential growth trajectories in the first two years by considering pre- and peri-natal factors among term-born AGA infants. We prospectively investigated 647 AGA infants and their mothers enrolled during 2012–2013 in Shanghai, China, and obtained repeated anthropometric measures at ages 42 days, 3, 6, 9, and 18 months from postnatal care records, and onsite measurements at age 1 and 2 years (skinfold thickness, mid-upper arm circumference (MUAC)). Birthweight was classified into sex-and gestational age-specific tertiles. Among mothers, 16.3% were overweight/obese (OWO), and 46.2% had excessive gestational weight gain (GWG). The combination of maternal prepregnancy OWO and high birthweight tertile identified a subset of AGA infants with 4.1 mm higher skinfold thickness (95% CI 2.2–5.9), 1.3 cm higher MUAC (0.8–1.7), and 0.89 units higher weight-for-length z-score (0.54, 1.24) at 2 years of age with adjustment for covariates. Excessive GWG was associated with higher child adiposity measures at 2 years of age. AGA infants manifested differential growth trajectories by the combination of maternal OWO and higher birthweight, suggesting that additional attention is needed for those “at increased risk” of OWO in early intervention. Full article
Show Figures

Graphical abstract

15 pages, 1043 KiB  
Article
The Associations of Birthweight for Gestational Age Status with Its Differential 0–2 Year Growth Trajectory and Blood Pressure at Two Years of Age in Chinese Boys and Girls
by Fengxiu Ouyang, Xiaobin Wang, Jonathan C. Wells, Xia Wang, Lixiao Shen and Jun Zhang
Nutrients 2023, 15(4), 979; https://doi.org/10.3390/nu15040979 - 16 Feb 2023
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2081
Abstract
The first 1000 days of life represents a critical period for lifelong metabolic health. This study prospectively examined the contrasts between the growth trajectories of large, small, and appropriate sizes for gestational age (LGA, SGA, and AGA) term-born infants in their first two [...] Read more.
The first 1000 days of life represents a critical period for lifelong metabolic health. This study prospectively examined the contrasts between the growth trajectories of large, small, and appropriate sizes for gestational age (LGA, SGA, and AGA) term-born infants in their first two years, and their blood pressure at two years. In 2012–2013, 806 Chinese mother-newborn dyads were enrolled in the Shanghai Obesity and Allergy Birth Cohort Study. Repeated anthropometric measures were obtained at age 42 days, and at 3, 6, 9, 12, 18 and 24 months. Systolic and diastolic blood pressure (SBP, DBP) were measured at two years of age. Linear random effect models were employed to evaluate growth trajectory differences between LGA, SGA, and AGA infants. Of the study infants, 12.4% were LGA and 4.0% SGA. Length, weight, and weight-for-length z-score (ZWFL) were all consistently higher in LGA infants and lower in SGA infants than AGA infants. SGA infants had a higher ZWFL (0.11 unit/month; 95% CI: 0.04, 0.19) and a higher BMI (0.19; 95% CI: 0.09, 0.28 kg/m2 per month) growth velocity at age 0–6 months, relative to AGA infants. SGA was associated with 6.4 (0.4–12.4) mmHg higher SBP, and LGA was associated with 2.9 (95% CI −5.2, −0.5) mmHg lower DBP at two years of age in boys, however, not in girls. In conclusion, in this prospective birth cohort with repeated anthropometric measures and BP at two years of age, LGA, SGA, and AGA term-born infants manifested differential patterns of weight growth trajectory and BP, providing new insight into developmental origins of cardiometabolic health. Full article
Show Figures

Graphical abstract

19 pages, 2076 KiB  
Article
Lactoferrin Supplementation during Gestation and Lactation Is Efficient for Boosting Rat Pup Development
by Anne Blais, Annaïg Lan, Alice Boluktas, Marta Grauso-Culetto, Catherine Chaumontet, François Blachier and Anne-Marie Davila
Nutrients 2022, 14(14), 2814; https://doi.org/10.3390/nu14142814 - 8 Jul 2022
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2530
Abstract
Lactoferrin (LF) is an iron-binding protein found at relatively high concentrations in human milk. LF, which is little degraded in the infant intestinal lumen, is known to stimulate the proliferation and differentiation of the small intestine epithelial cells. The present study was designed [...] Read more.
Lactoferrin (LF) is an iron-binding protein found at relatively high concentrations in human milk. LF, which is little degraded in the infant intestinal lumen, is known to stimulate the proliferation and differentiation of the small intestine epithelial cells. The present study was designed to evaluate in the rat model the effects of bovine LF (bLF) given to the mothers during gestation and lactation on the growth of the offspring. Female Wistar rats were randomly separated into two groups of animals that received from mating and during gestation and lactation a standard diet including or not including bLF (10 g/kg of diet). The pups’ growth was determined up to postnatal day 17 (PND17), and parameters related to lean and fat mass, intestinal differentiation, intestinal barrier function, bone mineral density, osteoblast activity, and brain development were measured. In addition, metabolites in pup plasma were determined at PND17. bLF was detected in the plasma and milk of the supplemented mothers as well as in the pup plasma. Although the body weight of the pups in the two groups did not differ at birth, the pups recovered from the supplemented mothers displayed an increase body weight from PND12 up to PND17. At PND17 in the bLF group, increased small intestine epithelial cell differentiation was detected, and colon barrier function was reinforced in association with increased expression of genes coding for the tight-junction proteins. Regarding bone physiology, improved bone mineral density was measured in the pups. Lastly, the plasma metabolite analysis revealed mainly higher amino acid concentrations in the LF pups as compared to the control group. Our results support that bLF ingestion by the mother during gestation and lactation can promote pup early life development. The potential interest of supplementing the mothers with bLF in the case of risk of compromised early life development of the offspring in the context of animal and human nutrition is discussed. Full article
Show Figures

Figure 1

Back to TopTop